Mariah Carey highlighting Summer Jam XX collaborations
Hot 97's Summer Jam festival is usually a platform for hip-hop fanatics to see their favorite radio artists perform the season's biggest hits, and at Sunday's Summer Jam XX it was apparent that it's the summer of collaborations. Almost every artist on stage got the crowd of young music lovers roaring when they brought out a "surprise" guest. Of course, most of the surprises were not so big, several having long garnered speculation.
For example, things really got going when rapper Meek Mill came out during Wale's set to perform his heavy hitter "House Party". Meek Mill is also featured on Wale's radio mainstay "Ambition". Similarly, the lone R&B artists - Chris Brown and Miguel - were able to hold their own amongst female fans, but when Miguel brought out Mariah Carey for a duet of their new single "Beautiful", the crowd responded with excitement at the sight of the Daisy Duke-clad songstress.
Brown brought out rapper Sean Kingston, who has been out of the limelight since a serious jet skiing accident and heart surgery derailed him in 2011, for a duet of their new song "Beat It". Later on, surprise guest Lil Kim joined rapper Fabolous on stage, while her rival Nicki Minaj also appeared to support rapper 2 Chainz. Minaj was on hand to perform their songs, club bangers "Beez in the Trap" and "I Luv Dem Strippers".
The "Super Bass" singer seems to have resolved her feud with Hot 97 personality Peter Rosenberg, who famously slammed her music for losing its hip-hop identity for more of a pop feel. The feud caused Minaj and many of her label mates to walk away from the Summer Jam stage last year.
The biggest onslaught of "surprise" guests were saved for the last performance, when hip-hop mainstays Lil Wayne and Rick Ross joined rapper French Montana on stage. It was also no coincidence that the hottest acts at this year's Summer Jam festival were under 30 years old. Two of the biggest headliners - rapper Kendrick Lamar, 25, and Harlem native A$AP Rocky, 24 - were able to capture the crowd without any help. (New York Daily News)
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